Army grapples with culture of failure

WEST POINT — Winning isn't complicated, according to Army coach Rich Ellerson.

Sal Interdonato

WEST POINT — Winning isn't complicated, according to Army coach Rich Ellerson.

And if Army's players forget what it takes to win football games, there are posters everywhere reminding them — in the locker room, as well as on the walls of the Foley Athletic Center, Army's training facility.

Every itinerary for every game has the "keys to victory" listed — "perfect effort, win the kicking game, win the turnover battle, win the mental game and win the critical situations."

The keys have remained the same since Ellerson took the Army job in December 2008.

"The things that correlate with success on the football field don't change," Ellerson said on Monday. "Those things that we put on the wall on the next snap, in the next game, are all that stands between you and success at the end of the day. It's not a mystery at all when you slow it down."

Results haven't changed at West Point. The Black Knights (1-3) have lost three games in a row. It's the fourth time Army has had a losing streak of three or more games in the last two-plus seasons.

Players were asking themselves when will they learn how to pull out victories after a 25-11 loss to Wake Forest on Saturday, a game in which Army led 11-10 with 3:44 left in the third quarter.

Has losing become ingrained in the players? Army is 6-22 the past three seasons. What can the coaches do to teach players how to win? Is winning something players have to figure out on the field?

"It's tough," Ellerson said. "It's hard to win a football game no matter where you are. What makes it hard to win are those things that we talk about all the time — the turnover battle, the kicking game, the effort, the unforced errors. And, we are playing good folks.

"Basically, there is a feeling missing and there is an experience missing. There is no substitute for habit. Winning is a habit, and we're battling like crazy to make that happen."

Junior defensive end Mike Ugenyi agreed with Ellerson. He said winning needs to become contagious. Army is getting tired of losing, Ugenyi said.

"Once you get that first win, you just roll with it and keep going and going," Ugenyi said. "Our defense is different from last year. Last year, everyone was fighting and working hard and trying to win games. But guys this year are (ticked) off that games are close and winnable and we are losing, and that's a great attitude to have. Instead of a couple guys being mad, it seems like the whole defense is (ticked) that we are letting games slip between our fingers. Out on the field, we are angry."

The Black Knights will get a chance to turn that anger into a win when they play Louisiana Tech (1-3) Saturday in their first game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas since 1967.

Army players say their confidence isn't wavering.

"We have to win," Ugenyi said. "It's as simple as that. We have to win. It's pretty big to play at the Cotton Bowl, but at the end of the day, we are trying to get a win here and keep winning and show people what team we really are."